[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 87 (Tuesday, June 18, 2013)]
[House]
[Pages H3696-H3697]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                REGULATIONS ON THE FREE MARKET FOR SUGAR

  (Mr. FLEISCHMANN asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. FLEISCHMANN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about sugar. As 
conservatives, we have a duty to speak out against programs that use 
regulations to stifle the free market, protect special interests, and 
have outlived their purpose. There are few programs that better fit 
this than the current system of price supports, import restrictions, 
and production quotas that make up our sugar program.

[[Page H3697]]

  Under this system, the government sets price supports, ensuring that 
producers have a guaranteed income, no matter what world prices are. 
Sugar imports are also kept to a minimum, preventing real competition.
  But this is not the end of the meddling. Sugar producers have strict 
sales quotas. Any excess sugar gets bought by the government and then 
is sold to ethanol producers, usually at a loss to the taxpayer.
  This means many things. It means consumers pay billions in higher 
sugar costs, thousands of jobs are lost in the food industry, and 
government continues to pick winners and losers in the marketplace.
  This week, we will have a chance to vote on an amendment to the FARRM 
Bill that makes substantial reforms to the program and is estimated by 
the CBO to save taxpayers $73 million. I urge my colleagues to support 
this amendment and free our sugar from government's heavy hand.

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